My experience at the NYC Marathon is going to be different than most “runners.” I’m slow, and I walk/jog my races. So, while I agree that this race is spectacular for most, and I had a great experience as far as racing through the streets and being cheered by the people of NYC. I must let walkers know what to expect and why I feel Race Management has a lot of work to do to be the “all inclusive race” they claim to be. 1.) There were police officers yelling at us through bullhorns, from “MILE 6” to about mile 15, to JUST QUIT if we couldn’t keep up and “run like we’re supposed to!” 2.) Water stations were abandoned by volunteers with hundreds (maybe thousands) of people still on the course! 3.) Mile markers and timing mats were removed by the time I reached about mile 18, causing people tracking me to wonder if I’d been injured or quit! 4.) Then, at the finish, the worst thing that could happen after struggling and pushing through 26.2 miles happened when I crossed the finish line and THERE WERE NO MEDALS! The world famous NYC Marathon did not bring enough medals to the finish line for all participants! They had the medals, but simply didn’t have the faith in us to finish the race! I, and about 200 others, were literally crying at the finish line! So, my first WMM race experience was totally ruined!

The San Francisco Marathon offers two half marathons; the first half and the second half. These “halfs” represent the first and second parts of the full marathon course. I prefer the Second Half because the shuttle service to the start line is infinitely better that the shuttle service at the end of the “first half,” the course covers more of the city and those gorgeous San Francisco houses we all like to see during a visit there and it ends at the finish festival unlike the first half. Also, I love that the course weaves through many diverse neighborhoods, and the people are all outside cheering you on as you go by! I love crowd support at a race. And frankly, their support is sometimes what propels me to the finish line! The people of SF come out for this race and they made me feel welcome and supported! The finish line festival was great and I loved that they offered free BareFoot wine instead of just beer.

When I did this race in 2017, there was a heat wave. It was so hot that some thought the race should be cancelled all together. However, the only race cancelled was the full marathon, which meant all those registered for the full, ran the half instead! The course was crowded and people were angry, making it a very chaotic situation! RnR also didn’t prepare ahead of time for the heat, so the only thing they were able to do to help us was to call out the fire department. So, there were hydrants and fire trucks periodically along the route to hose us down. Thankfully, there were some kind people who also offered assistance. However, the majority of this extremely boring course was in outlying areas and uninhabited parts of the city, so the citizen’s opportunities to help us were very limited! Water on the course wasn’t even cold! It was one of the toughest races I’d done at that point! Just surviving it was an achievement! As far as the medals, this was another point of contention! Since there were so many more people doing the half than planned, there weren’t enough of those medals for everyone. So, those registered for the full were forced to take full marathon medals, and RnR refused to replace them with the appropriate medals, even at a later date! Since this race, the route has been changed, due to complaints. I understand that it goes through the city now, and is much more scenic!

This is a hard race to review because the race itself is great, but the heat and the hills are brutal! So, do I recommend it or not? Well, I’ve decided to list the facts and let you decide! The course is the type I prefer, that takes you on a true tour of Nashville! The people come out and treat the race like a party! They play music, some wore costumes, they offered us food, candy and shots of Tennessee whiskey! It was so hot that people sprayed us with their water hoses and offered us ice, paper towels and popsicles, too! The race provided cold iced wash cloths and iced sponges along the course, and even had a few air-conditioned busses on course to take a break! So, I feel it was a great race, and a struggle, all at the same time! And, RnR swag is usually pretty great, which is why I do so many of their races! We also, had a great time in Nashville! That city is so much fun!